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This site is collapsing, and I’ve fled to a new page. As of September 20, 2013, find New Haven Theater Jerk at: www.scribblers.us/tj/ Bookmark it, please. If I can move the archived stories from here, I shall. But all new stuff will be over there. Thanks for joining me here for the past few years. … Continue reading »

Shakespeare on Theatre; edited by Nick de Somogyi Chekhov on Theatre; translated with an introduction and commentary by Stephen Mulrine (Opus on Theatre series, published by Opus Book Publishers and distributed by Hal Leonard Publishing Company, 2013) I’m not big for primers or anthologies or “introduction to”s. I prefer to muddle through Complete Works and … Continue reading »

Whitney Dibo and Lauren Dubowski and Kelly Kerwin have been hunkering down over a pile of play proposals since last week, figuring out what will make it into the Yale Cabaret’s 2013-14 season. Nearly 20 proposals were received for the remaining six slots of the fall semester. Tomorrow we’ll all know what they decided, but … Continue reading »

Tonight is opening night of the New Haven Theater Company production of Our Town. Any presentation of this show, one of the most often produced plays in the history of the American theater, comes with the annotation that the playwright was a longtime New Haven/Hamden resident. This year, there’s the added hype of it … Continue reading »

It’s not like I don’t get all excited at Tony Awards time, seeing whose careers will be validated and uplifted by overdue recognition. But I’m frankly more fascinated with the Obies and various regional arts awards which honor those for whom Broadway isn’t necessarily the be-all end-all career goal. The New York Innovative Theatre … Continue reading »

On September 21 at the Shubert Theater, there’ll be excerpts from a musical theater piece originally staged in 2010 at the Abbey Theater in Ireland. It’s a song cycle based on the works of William Butler Yeats, the legendary poet and playwright who happened to co-found the Abbey. Plus they’ll do “Fisherman’s Blues.” It’s a … Continue reading »

When it is lighted, come and call me here. —Brutus, in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Act II Scene 1 Edgerton Park was dark on Wednesday night. It wasn’t meant to be. The actors of the Elm Shakespeare Company were in their places backstage to perform the tragedy Julius Caesar. ESC marketing manager Barbara … Continue reading »

The Westport Country Playhouse has announced its 2014 season. Due to the theater’s unorthodox (in these parts anyhow) spring-to-fall scheduling scheme, the season won’t kick off until eight months from now. The anticipation is largely sweet. The season-opener, April 29 through May 17, has already been known for a while, since it’s a co-production with … Continue reading »

I’ve had to endure so many summers without a new Charles Paris mystery that I savored this one for weeks. It’s been well over a decade since Simon Brett last published an adventure of this professional actor/ amateur sleuth. In the meantime, the Paris character has gained new cultural cachet through a series of BBC … Continue reading »